When Heaven Comes... Into the Classroom: How to Reduce Stress and Increase Overall Well-being Through Holistic Health Practices

Bruseker

PREFACE

We are all teachers by word or by action.

After I retired from the day-to-day reality of teaching, I gained some perspective and I came to respect and fully appreciate the profession that I was part of for many years. Reflection time and guidance from some sacred mentors brought me to a place of deep gratitude for the privilege of teaching and counselling over a 37 year span.

I started my career as a drama teacher in the early seventies, moved into counselling in the eighties, and eventually piloted a project in holistic health called Complementary Health in the late nineties. Holistic health has become both a personal and a professional way of life for me. Teaching holistic health in the school system was an eight-year experiment that worked. I would like to tell you that story.

"When Heaven Comes… Into the Classroom" is an introductory book about teaching a new old way of health and hope, through holistic practices. It is about stress management and relaxation using Eastern and Western health care practices. It is a book about what is missing in the education of our children.

Various science courses are part of the mandatory curriculum taught in our schools in the modern Western world. Many of these science courses are the basis of our Western health care and most of us know and accept the necessity of Western medicine in our lives. What is not part of our practical curriculum in the school system are intuitive health practices that I will refer to as Eastern practices. Even though I have a bias towards the teaching and practice of proactive non-invasive holistic health care, I recognize we need both Eastern and Western ways. Much has been written on the topic of holistic health and its benefits, but little, if anything, has been written about the effect of these practices on the young ones who are under our care in the school system.

Whether or not you are new to holistic health or have been on this sacred path for some time, you did not pick up this book by accident or by coincidence. There is something here for you, whether it is to bring holistic health into your classroom, create a holistic health course, and/or get inspired to take the next step on your own sacred journey. All you need is a little bit of excitement and the first step will come.

This is a book for counsellors, teachers, parents, and students of life.

Education is not the filling of a pail But the lighting of a fire.

William Butler Yeats

My Personal Journey Into Holistic Health

My initiation into holistic health came as a result of severe lower back pain when I was twenty-two. In an attempt to avoid recommended back surgery to freeze my spine, I sought and received some pain relief from a chiropractor. However, it was not until I took Yoga from a tiny black-haired woman in her 70’s, that my back pain was under control. Happily, as I continue the practice of Yoga forty years later, this pain remains diffused and abated.

When I was a young teenager, I received a common treatment for acne: radiation, with no protection in the throat area. I was later made aware that up to fifty percent of the patients who received this medical intervention developed thyroid cancer. At age 25, I had two operations to remove a malignant tumor on my thyroid gland. I was a drama teacher at the time and I can still hear my mother saying, What about your voice? I dismissed her motherly concern. Recovery from the operation was slow, with varying doses of thyroxin throwing me into a tailspin, leading me from lethargy to depression. My energy was minimal as I struggled to get through a day of teaching.

I found out two years later that one of my recurrent laryngeal nerves running alongside my thyroid gland was accidentally severed during the operation. After undertaking voice therapy for many months, I was informed that my vocal difficulties were originally misdiagnosed and, in fact, I was prescribed exercises that had actually made my voice worse. I was also told that my voice was permanently damaged and I would have to just live with the inherent exhaustion from having a thyroidectomy including all of its complications.

My interest in Yoga remained, and about seven years later I took my Yoga teacher training from a tough-talking, mushy-hearted German woman named Friedel Khattab. She was a physiotherapist in the German army in the Second World War and became intrigued when observing Indian soldiers practicing some amazing yogic exercises. Khattab became a Yoga teacher, brought her craft to Canada, and has taught hundreds of students and teachers over the years. On occasion, her sense of humor in class both delighted and entertained us. When I finally convinced my husband to take a Yoga class, Khattab walked past him as he was stretching on the floor and said, There is nothing I like better than a good-looking man lying down.

My next major step into holistic health was to study Acupressure with Dr. Peter Tsang through the Royal Academy of Acupressure in Edmonton. Tsang had been a surgeon in Hong Kong and practiced and taught Acupuncture when he came to Canada. After my Acupressure training, I worked in his clinic for the summer months to try to get a feel for the profession. A day’s work left me with aching hands and a depleted body. This was not a profession I could maintain.

My serious allergy to dairy products was discovered when I was fifty by Dr. Tris Trethart, a holistic medical doctor in Edmonton, Alberta. My life long fatigue exacerbated by a too low thyroxin dosage would next to disappear if I stopped eating cheese! Dr. Trethart gave me my life’s energy.

I have had traditional and nontraditional personal counselling over the years for General Anxiety. This familial pattern was exacerbated by some significant life crises. Counselling helped me untwist my thinking, release some negative patterns, and come to a more peaceful place as my physical and mental health continued to improve. My awareness moved on towards a more spiritual path.

Next, I was drawn to Reiki, which is an ancient Japanese hands-on healing practice. I believe Reiki has helped me move from a place of transition onto a path of transformation. At my first Reiki workshop, we were told, There will be a significant change in your life within three months. A new personal and professional path unfolded before my eyes and I found myself drafting a proposal to run a pilot project in Complementary Therapies at Archbishop MacDonald High School in Edmonton, Alberta. The program came to me with clarity and grace. Complementary Therapies met the needs of our highly stressed, high achieving academic students. It was timely, current, and right.

While I still maintain infrequent but regular medical appointments, my journey through holistic health continues. Even though I have had some misdirection and misdiagnosis from Western Medicine, it is still a necessary part of my life. With my fledgling knowledge of holistic health, I have moved from the status quo of being a passive patient to taking responsibility for my life, mentally, physically, and spiritually. I am well.

Five Reasons Why I Wrote This Book

The first reason I wrote this book is that I believe a practical, optional course for credit in holistic health should be available in our educational system, from kindergarten to post-secondary school. Assigning budgetary dollars to such a course brings acceptance and value to the concept of holistic health. It also provides the opportunity to practice well-being physically, spiritually, and emotionally within the school/work day. All of us know that when our plates are full, the first activity to go is self-care. There are many studies that show productivity and well-being increase when stress management and relaxation are part of our everyday lives. Trying to exercise before or after school or work can be very challenging for a variety of reasons. Physical Education in our schools goes a long way to enhance our health but it does not address the whole person. Wouldn’t it be nice if every student had the option of taking holistic health as part of their education, and that it actually contributed to their diploma or degree?

Complementary Health can initially be marketed as a practical stress reduction and relaxation course through holistic health. It will evolve into lessons in life creating guideposts to health and happiness throughout our lifetime. Western health care is already taught in schools in our Health programs, however holistic health is not, other than a one credit academic look at Integrative Health (according to Alberta Education). It is my position that holistic health needs to be experienced in order to reap its benefits.

The second reason I wrote this book is because I have had some major health issues in my life that have frequently put me in a place of not knowing how to cope. From debilitating back pain, to thyroid cancer, divorce, and the loss of an infant, I searched for ways to heal the emotional rollercoaster that accompanied my major life crises. Along with Western medicine, I used holistic health to find my way to a state of well-being physically, spiritually, and emotionally in a way that I had never experienced before.

The third reason I wrote this book comes from my experience as a counsellor and teacher in the school system. As a counsellor, one of the biggest issues I dealt with for both staff and students was stress. Parents and students were asking for help. They were very open to a never before holistic health option to address their concerns. Students were hungry for something a little bit different that spoke to them in a non-traditional way.

From my personal experience as a teacher, I also know how easy it is to overextend oneself and end up exhausted with few, if any, coping tools. Practicing holistic health in any classroom can give the students and teachers a renewed energy and focus. This book lets teachers, students, and parents know that a holistic health course can go a long way to relieve stress and promote relaxation within the school day.

The fourth reason I wrote this book has to do with money. I like money, and I am not talking about the money I will make from this wildly successful book. I am talking about keeping more of the money I make. Our health care system is under a huge financial strain right now. With the growing number of baby boomers about to overwhelm the system, what will happen to our health services? What will happen to our tax dollars? Since I have been on a holistic path I have stopped taking painkillers, anti-inflammatories, cold and sinus medication, etc. Many of the students in Complementary Health have also reported a reduction in their over-the-counter medications. It is common sense to stay as healthy as we can, for the sake of our pocket books, as well as for a renewed mind, body, and spirit.

The fifth reason I wrote this book is that I have a need to create. I had an experience in my early drama teaching years when I had developed a rich and creative process on how to research, implement and stage original productions. Someone who saw the value of my work, interviewed me, and wrote a book on drama productions two years later. I felt shocked and blindsided. I hadn’t even thought to write a book myself. Even if I had the thought, I did not have the confidence or courage.

More recently during two separate meditations I received specific guidance for my next creative adventure. The first directive was to write a book. The second directive told me that the book was to be titled "When Heaven Comes… Into the Classroom." Some people write books, some people just think about writing books, and some people are too afraid to write. I am not afraid any more.

INTRODUCTION

From my rough impression of the Western educational system, although it is very impressive to see the high standard of the facilities, the many material resources, and the perfection of so many different aspects of intellectual development, the thing that seems to be lacking is the dimension of enhancing and developing the heart.

Dalai Lama

As a teacher and counsellor with 37 years experience, I was the founder of a pilot project in holistic health that was offered at Archbishop MacDonald High School in the Edmonton Catholic School District (ECSD), in Edmonton, Alberta from 1999 to 2007.

In a course called Complementary Health (formerly Complementary Therapies) students were given a world vision of health through the complementing of Eastern and Western health practices in order to help them reduce their stress and increase their relaxation and overall well-being. The first year I taught the course it was called Stress Management through Complementary Therapies. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to the course throughout this book as Complementary Health.

Students want to do well in school without crippling anxiety, and parents want their children to be happy and successful. Teachers need tools to help them replenish themselves and stay connected to the joy of teaching. The practice of holistic health has the ability to nurture these desires by facilitating peace, contentment, and happiness in all areas of life. Holistic health offers a bridge to inner knowing that cannot be learned academically. It must be experienced.

In our existing educational system we do not teach students how to trust their own knowing. We pride ourselves in teaching necessary critical thinking skills, from dissecting moral issues to working out a math problem. However, we do not teach our students how thinking affects well-being. We do not teach our children how to be mindful. Holistic health is missing in the education of the whole child.

You can always read and follow directions from a textbook but valuable lessons can be learned from experiencing [holistic health] first hand.

Parent of a Grade 11 Female student

Life has continued to be more stressful for all. Academics are not everything. To live well is so necessary. [This is] a very good course [which] helps one to succeed.

Parent of a Grade 11 Male student

In many cases [holistic health]) could be as important as core learning subjects. I think that it can be very beneficial for everyone to learn various means of achieving [a] healthy lifestyle and habits. School is an excellent place to learn these lessons… the younger, the better in my opinion.

Parent of a Grade 11 Female student

When Heaven Comes… Into the Classroom is a book that details the how to of teaching Holistic Health within the existing educational system, and includes my own personal and professional experiences in the journey to develop and teach holistic health.

Holistic health involves working with the mind, the body, and the spirit and is based on the premise that the body knows how to heal itself. Although relatively new to the Western world, many of these Eastern practices were founded thousands of years ago and are still practiced today. Complementary therapies are intended to be practiced in conjunction with Western health care, bringing us the best of both worlds. Integrative health is common in many parts of the world and is now becoming an innovative approach to healing in the Western world.

My experience as a counsellor and a teacher allowed me to recognize the inherent interest in holistic health from students and parents and to determine a need to develop a program that was both proactive, readily available, and able to be taught at any grade level, in any classroom, or as a stand-alone course.

From a financial perspective, teaching students how to take charge of their own health creates a healthier, more proactive population and thus saves the health care system billions of dollars. From a health and happiness perspective, our society can only benefit from having students learn about their health from a holistic perspective.

Parent of a Grade 11 Male student

Ron Miller, in The Heart of Learning says the concept of Holistic Education has been around since Rousseau in the late 1700s (193). Today, Montessori and Waldorf Schools are well-known modern day examples of holistic education. Other lesser well-known holistic schools exist in California, Italy, Russia, and perhaps throughout the world, all of which have a variety of holistic approaches. Most of these are private schools. To date, the concept and exploration of inner knowing through holistic health is sadly missing in our public education system.

Holistic practices often promote a feeling of well-being that is hard to measure. Many people do recover from serious illness, or lack of well-being through these practices. I am a living example. As educators, we are remiss if we neglect the practical holistic education of our children. It is possible to have holistic health programs in your school or in any classroom right now. All you need is an enthusiastic teacher, an administrator with vision, and the support of the parents. Student interest is a given.

We are now in a period of transformation as the world shifts its attention towards a more spiritual path. To date, Alberta Education (the Education Ministry in my home province) has not yet approved the regular practice of Holistic Health in Alberta school districts, other than an academic overview through a one-credit Career and Technology Studies course (CTS) called Integrative Health, (formerly Complementary Therapies). It is my sincere hope that educators across the land begin to see the value of holistic health, and take steps to make this course a viable, practical option for our teachers and students. We must keep knocking on the door.

Find your way to a calmer, more productive classroom. Let us begin to teach our children and ourselves how to access our inner wisdom, our heart knowledge, through holistic health practices.

When Heaven Comes… Into the Classroom will bring you a greater understanding that will help you nurture the tender young souls in your care.

In teaching students to deal with stress and to take a quiet time out of their day to relax and think, to me, sounds like two wonderful ideas. I only wish they did this during my school years.

Parent of a Grade 11 Female student

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK

ONE: OPENING THE DOOR will help you understand What is Holistic Health? You will be given the groundwork for your holistic health initiative in Understanding the Basics and a glimpse of what Holistic Health in Any Educational Setting can look like.

TWO: MEETING THE TRIUMVIRATE explores the three most significant areas to teach in holistic health: Breath Work, Self-Talk, and a very simple and safe form of energy work through the practice of Reiki. These three modalities, for most students, will impact their lives in a significant way.

THREE: ENRICHING THE EXPERIENCE recommends Optional Modalities for your consideration, more hands-on Mini Exercises for the practical aspect of holistic health, plus a sampling of Quotations for daily classroom reflections.

FOUR: DREAMING THE DREAM will invite you to play Wouldn’t It Be Nice If… helping you envision the possibilities in holistic health education. Discover what every teacher can do in Practising Holistic Health in a Regular Classroom. Expanding Your Own Holistic Health Education will help you face the direction you want to go. Setting up a Complementary Health Course brings you everything you need to know to help you teach a holistic health course.

FIVE: CROSSING THE THRESHOLD guides you through the process of Taking Action in initiating a stand-alone course. Support, funding, and controversy will be addressed. The Vision will create a vessel to hold the dream of holistic health in any educational setting.

NOTES

WHAT IS HOLISTIC HEALTH?

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

Rumi

What is Holistic Health?

The term holistic comes from the Greek word holos meaning whole. Holistic health practices encompass the complete system of mind, body, and spirit. Balance is the key in these elements. A basic premise of holistic health is that the body is capable of healing itself, and holistic practices remind us how to do that. Holistic health is not affiliated with any particular religious practice. It is a way of life.

The term holistic in the Western world is often spelled wholistic.

There are no clear and consistent definitions for either Complementary Therapies or Alternative Therapies. For the purposes of this book, the following definitions will be used.

What is a Complementary Therapy?

A Complementary Therapy is a specific holistic practice. Complementary Therapies are often referred to as Eastern practices because they encompass an inner knowing and a body wisdom that is seldom honored in the modern Western world. Most of these Eastern practices are thousands of years old and are still relevant today. Western health care is driven by the intellect, and monitored by the scientific model. Although outside mainstream medicine, Complementary Therapies are meant to complement and work in conjunction with Western health care. Combining Eastern and Western health practices brings us the best of both worlds.

What is an Alternative Therapy?

A holistic modality that is not practiced in conjunction with Western Medicine is referred to as an Alternative Therapy. For example, if yoga were used exclusively as a total health regimen, without the benefits of Western medicine, it would be considered an Alternative Therapy.

What is CAM?

CAM stands for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. There is some controversy regarding the use of the word medicine in CAM, as it erroneously implies there is a Western medical component in this acronym. However medicine is an inclusive word used to indicate any/all practices of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease no matter what the cultural perspective.

What is Integrative Medicine?

Integrative medicine combines the best of Eastern and Western worlds in terms of health care, where medical doctors are either trained or work in conjunction with Complementary Therapy practitioners. Integrative Medicine encompasses the mind, body, and spirit connection, and holds the basic belief that the body is inherently self-healing.

Once I taught Complementary Health for a few years, the basic underpinnings of holistic health became clear to me. They are Eastern and Western Paradigms, Energy, and Spirituality. The understanding of these concepts became the umbrella under which the exploration into holistic health took place.

UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS

I have one small drop of knowing in my soul Let it dissolve in your ocean.

Rumi

Eastern and Western Paradigms

There are varied approaches throughout the world to Eastern and Western thought regarding healing practices. Perhaps this is an over simplification, but for the purposes of this book, reference to Western thought will refer to the intellect while reference to Eastern thought will refer to intuition/soul guidance/inner knowing. Western knowledge is arrived at empirically from the input of the five senses: touch, sight, taste, smell and hearing. Evidence gathered in controlled conditions forms the basis of modern Western health care. Eastern thought, in addition, embraces another perspective.

Addressing the varied and numerous healing practices of the world is beyond the scope of this book. To simplify this expansive field, any and all healing practices not of the modern Western World will be referred to as Eastern practices. The underpinnings of holistic health are what I will refer to as an Eastern Paradigm or another way of knowing.

Indigenous peoples on every continent have healing methods that are centuries, even millennia, old. Many of these are secret oral traditions that have been passed down, generation to generation, with the knowledge heavily guarded to prevent the dissolving or diluting of their traditions. This is slowly changing. Some of these secret traditions, for example Reiki, are now known throughout the world.

Many of us are searching for a deeper connection to life, one that encompasses the entire human experience of body, mind, and spirit. We want more than the Western perspective can offer us. Many different forms of proactive holistic health care can assist this endeavor.

I have a bias. This book is mostly about Eastern healing methods. It is my opinion and perspective that the educational system in the Western World already has a sufficient traditional science base. What we are missing in the education of the whole person is the Eastern perspective. "When Heaven Comes… Into the Classroom" is about holistic health with an Eastern viewpoint that works with and complements Western science-based health practices.

Donna Eden, in Energy Medicine, says Western thought affirms the intellect and either discounts or ignores the wisdom of the body. Eastern thought recognizes the primal knowing of the body, where the body carries a wisdom that exceeds academic understanding. The Western way is driven by the intellect. The Eastern way is not.

Guest speaker Stephen Tsang of Edmonton, Alberta, a 21st generation acupuncturist, says that in ancient times royalty paid Chinese doctors to keep their energies balanced and aligned. Doctors were not paid if the patient got sick and/or died. The Chinese doctors’ healing intentions were therefore proactive and preventative. They worked holistically, by including the mind, the body, and the spirit.

From a proactive perspective Western medicine does advocate good nutrition, exercise and plenty of rest. However substantial health care intervention is initiated only after the patient is in distress. The patient is frequently treated with drugs and/or invasive surgery. The wisdom of the body is not considered and supported. In Western medicine there is a tendency for everyone with the same symptoms to receive the same treatment thus disregarding the whole patient. The metaphysical question of why these symptoms occurred in the first place is frequently not addressed. The West deals with the body, sometimes